Marvin was born in New York City, the son of Lamont Waltman Marvin, an advertising executive and the head of the New York and New England Apple Institute and his wife Courtenay Washington Davidge, a fashion writer and beauty consultant.[2] He was named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who was his first cousin, four times removed.[3] His father was a direct descendant of Matthew Marvin, Sr., who emigrated from Great Bentley, Essex, England in 1635 and helped found Hartford, Connecticut.[2]
Marvin studied violin when he was young.[4] As a teenager, Marvin "spent weekends and spare time hunting deer, puma, wild turkey and bobwhite in the wilds of the then-uncharted Everglades."[5] He attended St. Leo Preparatory College in St. Leo, Florida after being expelled from several schools for bad behavior.[6]
Marvin left school to join the United States Marine Corps, serving as a Scout Sniper in the 4th Marine Division.[7] He was wounded in action during the WWII Battle of Saipan, during which most of his platoon were killed. Marvin's wound (in the buttocks) was from machine gun fire, which severed his sciatic nerve.[8] He was awarded the Purple Heart and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class.[9] Contrary to rumors, Marvin did not serve with Bob Keeshan during World War II.[9]
From Wikipedia:
Steve McQueen
After McQueen left Chino, he returned to Julian, now living in Greenwich Village, but almost immediately left again. He then met two sailors from the Merchant Marine and volunteered to serve on a ship bound for the Dominican Republic.[6] Once there, he abandoned his new post, eventually making his way to Texas, and drifted from job to job. He worked as a janitor in a brothel, as an oil rigger, as a trinket salesman in a carnival, and as a lumberjack. [edit]Military service
In 1947, McQueen joined the United States Marine Corps and was quickly promoted to Private First Class and assigned to an armored unit.[6] Initially, he reverted to his prior rebelliousness, and as a result was demoted to private seven times. He went UA (unauthorized absence) by failing to return after a weekend pass had expired. He instead stayed away with a girlfriend for two weeks, until the shore patrol caught him. He resisted arrest and as a result spent 41 days in the brig.[6]
After this, McQueen resolved to focus his energies on self-improvement and embraced the Marines' discipline. He saved the lives of five other Marines during an Arctic exercise, pulling them from a tank before it broke through ice into the sea.[6] He was also assigned to an honor guard responsible for guarding then-U.S. President Harry Truman's yacht.[6] McQueen served until 1950 when he was honorably discharged.
Wow. They both beat hell out of the current crop of actors.
I wonder what it would take to replace them with men like Marvin and McQueen?